student unions are now required to register under the Charities
Act 2006
The way that charities are regulated has changed with the
introduction of the Charities Act 2006. The Act now puts previously
exempt charities into two brackets:
- those who are already regulated by a regulatory body which has
agreed to take on the responsibility for ensuring compliance with
charity law. Such bodies will be known as the "principle regulator"
and for English Universities this will be the Higher Education
Funding Council for England (HEFCE)
- those without a regulator. Those charities without a regulator
will cease to be exempt and will have to register with the Charity
Commission. To begin with, only those with an annual income of more
than £100,000 will have to register but it is likely that this
threshold will be reviewed in a few years time
For student unions, no suitable regulator was identified and as
such they were required to register with the Charity Commission as
of 1 June 2010. Formerly, student unions were able to enjoy exempt
charitable status by reason of their association with their parent
university but this will no longer be the case and they will need
to register separately with the Charity Commission.
In seeking registration, the student union will need to show
that it meets the public benefit test. The directors or trustees of
the student union will have to report on an annual basis on how it
meets the test on an ongoing basis and comply with guidance on
public benefit issued by the Commission in managing the student
union.
Once registered, student union will have a number of additional
requirements to comply with over and above those which it will have
experienced as an exempt charity. These include the production and
audit of accounts, the completion of an annual return and an annual
report. As the regulator, the Charity Commission will have greater
powers over the registered charity including being able to
instigate enquiries into the activities of the student union.
